STORIES THAT INSPIRE,
TEACH & MOTIVATE
IBD’ers share their stories of bravery & hope in order to inspire others.
KRISTY C. @BELSIZEBIRD
I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) in 2003 while going through my finals at
university. The symptoms weren’t particularly bad: I had bleeding and urgency but not
too much pain and, compared to other people, didn’t need the toilet too often (probably
about eight to ten times a day). I was given Predfoam which cleared it up pretty quickly.
Apart from a brief flare-up a couple of months later (when I was separately diagnosed
with cancer (Hodgkin’s lymphoma; I have fortunately been in
remission for about 9 years now), I lived symptom free...for
nine years.
This clearly led me into a false sense of security. I had UC but
was like so many other people out there who had no idea how
debilitating and serious the disease can be. I have a friend who
has irritable bowel syndrome and when she made comparisons I
didn’t think to be annoyed.
In March 2012, I started with another flare-up. It wasn’t particularly bad (rather like
before)...to begin with. I got married, I went on the honeymoon (on a safari, where there
are hardly any toilets and the prospect of crouching down behind a tree and being eaten
by a lion wasn’t appealing). I therefore expected that all would be well after a short
course of Predfoam. However, neither Predfoam nor Asacol suppositories worked. I was
given oral Asacol, which also didn’t work. The bleeding and urgency got worse and the
pain started to kick in. I was put on Prednisone, and every time I tried to reduce the dose
(under doctor’s advice) things just got worse.
I went for dinner with two friends at the end of November 2012 and spent most of the
evening on the toilet. The following day, I was admitted to the hospital. I was mortified
as it was my birthday two days later and I was meant to be going on holiday to Mexico.
I spent two weeks on IV steroids. They didn’t work. I was then given Cyclosporine for
about a week. It didn’t work either. The toilet became my best friend, food my enemy. I
lost about 20% of my body weight, dropping to 7 stone. In the end, my only option was
surgery. On December 12, 2012, I had a sub-total colectomy. The first night after surgery
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